By Mike Love
What a day it was for Sheree Tomlinson at Methven yesterday.
The Canterbury-based driver secured a hat-trick of wins on the 12-race programme and in the process brought up her 100th trotting win.
“I was on ninety nine for a while – which seems to be the way when you’re chasing a personal milestone. I feel like I had a lot of seconds recently on trotters,” laughed Tomlinson.
“The trotters have always been part of my driving career. It was something personal and special for me, and to do it on one of our own made it really cool.”
Trained by her grand-father Ken Ford and her mother Amanda Tomlinson, Zsazsa Binx brought up Tomlinson’s 100th success.
She dominated the Methven Seeds Trot with a faultless display – stepping away and leading, never in doubt, winning by three and a quarter lengths.
“Hopefully the next step up won’t be too hard for her now that she’s strengthened up.”
Brian Beatt was almost identical in the Ashburton Powdercoating & Sandblasting Trot. Stepping like a pro and finding the lead where Tomlinson and ‘Brian’ remained, winning by two and a half lengths.
“He is one that won his maiden too quickly and it took him a while to get his bearings in this grade – but now he’s come out and won two this season. Racing through the winter has really helped him.”
“He’s got such great manners now, and I think there will be more wins for him.”
Although Tomlinson reflects on Amaretto Sun’s win in the Group One 2017 Dominion Handicap as technically her most memorable trotting win, another family owned and trained trotter in Marcoola etched a memory for Tomlinson that is equally as significant.
“Marcoola in the mile at Ashburton (2019) and having the record for a mile was also awesome. It’s pretty cool to say I’ve driven one of the fastest trotters in Australasia.”
Tomlinson completed her hat-trick on the Bruce Negus trained Classie Linc in the Rainer Irrigation Handicap Pace. As with the trotters, Classie Linc made a strong beginning from her ten metre unruly mark, to lead and control affairs, holding on to win by three quarters of a length.
All told Tomlinson has had 280 driving wins, the first being Little Mo, a trotter of course, at Oamaru in January 2016.
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